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As the above title suggests, I saw Predators recently. It was actually pretty entertaining for what it was. What was it? It was a movie full of army guys with big guns fighting aliens with ray guns. That’s all it is, that’s all I expected it to be, and in the end that’s all I wanted.

The Predator is one of my favorite movie monsters. I remember watching the Predator on Channel 4 when I was a kid and despite my love of Arnold and Pancho, I always rooted for the Predator. He was supposed to be the quintessential best at everything; super strong, fast, and he possessed technology that let him cloak himself and fire bolts of plasma. When Predator 2 came out I loved it because it was not only as good as the original but it combined an urban setting for an alien tribal hunter and it did it successfully!

Minor spoilers below.

The new Predator did introduce a new “tribe” of Predator. This tribe differed in their style of attack and slightly in their anatomy. They had more of a conical shaped skull and had defined roles rather than just being an “Alien Hunter.” They used tactics and incorporated animals to aid them in their hunt. They had different styles of fighting, where one of the new Predators enjoyed fighting his victims one on one with a hand weapon and another used hounds to help him.

I heard some complained about the new design even though it’s similar to the old one. The old design had a flatter head and was more beefy while this new one is slimmer and taller with a more conical shaped head. The new design has longer fangs on the front as well as a darker skin color. Still the two designs are identical and not too different, and the general feel of the old Predator is clearly in the new one.

The film was a continuation of the Predator series that bypassed the AVP series entirely; set on an alien planet where the Predators had set up an elaborate game preserve the film made several homages to the first film. The humans were all specialists who were the best at what they do and had extensive military backgrounds. There were massive explosions and plenty of terrifying jungle scenes but the subtlest homage they did in the whole movie involved a minor (and easily forgotten) subplot involving yet another alien race on the planet.

This race was insectoid and was also brought in for hunting. They had slimy skin and were riddled with small cochroaches that lived in them like parasites. They were silent and fast and nearly killed one of the soldiers before it was brought down. Now, why do I bring up this creature?

Because believe it or not, the iconic Predator design we all know and love? It wasn’t the first design. The original design of the Predator was more reptillian and a bit impractical for their design needs back in the day. The suit had to be scrapped (some claim it was stolen) and a new design had to be developed. For the new Predators the special effects department wanted to design an alien that was also prey for the Predator so they adapted the old monster design into the new one.

Here’s a picture of the old Predator that could have been. I’m partial to it but it does look more like a Power Rangers villain than a scary alien hunter.

In Other News

Gen Con is right around the corner! Lets see what is going to be available at the con this year…

Third Eye Games, who I have worked for and they are run by my amazing friend Eloy, have opened up a Fan Reward Program. You guys should check it out! While at Gen Con you should also stop by his booth (Studio 2 which is located at #320) to check out his new game!

Maschine Zeit will be for sale at the Indie Press Revolution booth! You all know you want a copy (or three!) and they will have plenty of merchandise ready. I believe there will also be demos as well so you can all find out what the game is like! I do hope you all like it, I really do think it’s an amazing game.

WoD Mirrors will be at the White Wolf booth. I haven’t had a chance to read it so I don’t know for sure if it will be amazing…but I know half of the writers who worked on it and they have produced amazing things in the past. Chuck Wendig? Yeah, he wrote for it. If you need something to help make your WW chronicle stand out or need something to help expand your own World of Darkness, I recommend picking it up!